wednesdAY, september 8, 20212Jnu passed a budgetof 148.87 crore TkNakibul ahsaN Nishad; JNuJagannath university (Jnu) has passed the main revenue (nondevelopment)budget of Tk 148.87 crore for the year of 2021-22.as well as by person examination policies are approved.On Monday at 3 pm Jagannath university Vice-ChancellorProf. Md. imdadulhaque chair the 85th syndicate meeting.in this syndicate meeting, the revised budget of Jagannathuniversity for the year 2020-21 was Tk 128 crore 6 lakh 45thousand and the basic revenue (non-development) budget ofTk 148 crore 87 lakh for the financial year 2021-22 was passed.among the notable sectors, the budget of the research sector forthe last financial year 2020-21 has been increased from Tk 2crore to Tk 5 crore for the financial year 2021-22.in addition, capital grant (equipment, vehicles, informationcommunication technology, other grants) sector 8 crore 46lakh, recurring grant (teachers and staffs salaries andallowances) 98 crore 37 lakh, goods and services assistance 32crore and 90 lakh. 2 crore 30 lakh has been allocated forpension and retirement benefits and 1 crore 84 lakh has beenallocated for other grants.AvB Gm wc Avi/wewea/29907/09/21GD-1294/21 (4x4)‡kL nvwmbvi g~jbxwZMÖvg kn‡ii DbœwZ/6166BCIC-111, Date : 07.09.21GD-1295/21 (6x4)GD-1297/21 (8x4)GD-1292/21 (14x4)
WeDneSDay, SepTeMBer 8, 20214Acting Editor & Publisher : Jobaer Alame-mail: editor@thebangladeshtoday.comWednesday, September 8, 2021Encouraging needbased educationThe Minister for Education told aninternational workshop sometimeago that enlarging the sphere ofvocational education to create humanresources amply should be the thrust pointin the educational sector of the country.He could not be more apt in hisobservation. But the same also invites thequestion of what is being done to increasegovernment run centres for technical orvocational education.Of course, the present government has toits credit the taking of steps to expandopportunities for technical and vocationaleducation. It has done more compared toprevious governments in the last twodecades to increase facilities for technicaland vocational education. But as it is,government run polytechnic institutes inBangladesh are 77, technical schools andcolleges 64, technical training centres 38,medical colleges 18, agricultural colleges 4,agricultural university 1, textile institute 6,agricultural institutes 13, forest institute 1,marine institute 1 and textile vocationalinstitutes 40. The above figures clearlyshow that for a country with over 165million people and a big part of them beingteenagers or fast reaching the age to enterthe labour market through some kind ofneed based education, the number of staterun organizations to impart sucheducation, is small compared to the need.For example, when there should be atleast two or three polytechnics in each ofthe country's 64 districts, the total numberof polys is 77. The same kind ofinsufficiency is noted in the other groupsparticularly in the areas of technicalschools and colleges and technical trainingcentres. It is also relevant to mention inthis connection that the media oftenfocuses on the poor state of whateverinstitutions are there in the state sector forvocational or technical education. In manycases, it is alleged that these do not haveadequate number of teachers or trainersagainst sanctioned posts or equipmentand machines for training are missing orremain dysfunctional.The budget makers are seen spendingmoney to pave the way for getting degreesby hundreds of thousands of youngsters ingeneral, theoretical and religiouseducation every year. But what good suchgeneralists or potential prayer leaders--who pass out in hordes annually-- can doto fill the ranks of skilled manpower needsto take the country to a higher level ofeconomic existence ?It is imperative from the highest levels ofthe government to realize that thepriorities in education must be redefinedat the fastest and remedial actions takenjust as fast. Useless and redundant formsof education need to be discouraged andcurtailed. Allocations must be muchincreased for creating centres for types ofeducation that would create real humanresources.How was The person BangabandhuHonourable reader! Letus introduce you toBangabandhu anewtoday. You all knowabout Bangabandhu'scontribution in politics.But today we will discusswhat this man was like outside of politics. Oncea gentleman asked Bangabandhu, "What doyou expect your children to be when they growup?" In reply, Bangabandhu said, 'I want mychildren to become human beings. This isSheikh Mujib. In response to this question, hisattitude towards life and his character traitscame to light. He said about their careers, theywill choose their careers as per their choice. Idon't want to sniff at her. He has been a gentle,humble and considerate person since hisstudent days. His behavior is extremely sincere.His always majestic face is easily filled with agenerous smile. His sense of humor has savedhim from all the pains and lawsuits of his life.The thing that amazes his the most is his greatconfidence. Once he decides that he has madethe right decision, he has pushed forward nomatter what obstacles come his way. He wouldeasily catch the eye in the crowd. Wherever hewas, Bangabandhu could easily attract theattention of everyone. His transformation froma tall, slender body in his youth to a greatpersonality leader. When Bangabandhu stoodin the midst of the people and addressed themin a strong and powerful voice about thestupidity of the government, the real man couldnot be recognized. When one came closer, onecould understand how sincere, domestic andsensitive Bangabandhu was in his behavior,with a smile on his face. But no one could foolhim. Although Bangabandhu likes new ideas,he does not reject the previous ones withoutlooking at them well. Sheikh Mujib's life is a veryordinary life of austerity. He is one of thesuccessful world leaders today because he didnot have any fascination with comfort, luxuryetc. This indifference towards home, money,comfort, etc. has increased the respect andesteem of the people towards him many times.His steps towards life were faster and strongerthan usual.Sheikh Mujib used to spread the charisma ofhis strong personality among the people whoused to come near him. When he spoke onstage, he spoke in clear, simple language, andoccasionally added funny anecdotes. This abilityto handle people with sensitive and skilledhands has further increased Bangabandhu'spopularity and power. It is very rare that he hada stubborn and strong temperament. SheikhMujib's characteristic was a stubborn andarrogant affair. Although stubborn, he was aforgiving man. Michelle was a marvel ofstubbornness and power. Bangabandhu used toforgive people and forget about people's crimes.But Bangabandhu had no revenge against theformer politicians who slanderedBangabandhu. Bangabandhu never wishedthem misfortune.One of the vice-presidents of the AwamiLeague thought that Sheikh Mujib would endup in the Agartala conspiracy case and he wouldhave to spend at least 20 years in jail. The manslandered Sheikh Mujib but later returned tothe Awami League. Later he started traveling tothe Awami League office. When Mujib met him,he seemed to realize that he had completelyforgotten about the past. However,Bangabandhu had earlier said to his politicalcolleagues, 'I will not allow this man to join theAwami League again. This shows howgenerous, kind and compassionateBangabandhu was.John Gunther said that Gandhiji enjoyed thesolitude of prison. He meditated and meditatedon God. Sheikh Mujib also had no fear of jail. Itcan be said that the jail was Bangabandhu'ssecond residence. One day he said to one,'Prison is my other home. However, life inprison was not very pleasant for him. Hethought it was a waste of time to stay in jailbecause there was so much work outside.According to him, "solitary confinement is themost heinous punishment of the government."He can also be called a prisoner. He had tospend nine years and eight months in jail afterthe creation of Pakistan. It was the longestimprisonment for any Pakistani politician.Sheikh Mujib would have been the first victim ofa change of government. Putting him in jailseemed to be a casual affair of the government.After martial law was imposed in 1958, he wasimprisoned along with Maulana Bhasani andAbul Mansur. The first night they spent togetherand spent the whole night talking. To them itwas a political get-together. They discuss thedire consequences of politics and military rule.The next day they were sent to a separate cell. Itwas a torture for a happy-go-lucky man likeSheikh Mujib. Like many other politicians, hesettled in prison, reading books, plantingvegetables and flowers. He collected a mangosapling from another ward of the jail andplanted it in the backyard of his cell. Whileplanting the saplings, he told the jailsuperintendent, "I want to eat mangoes fromthis tree before I get out of this jail." The prisonsuperintendent was impressed by the way hespoke, even though he was joking. Sheikh Mujibwas not only brave, his soul was as strong andsolid as granite. Every time he has gone to jail inthe past, there have been problems with whereand with whom to leave the five children.However, after taking up residence inDhanmondi, Dhaka, Bangabandhu breathed asigh of relief, thinking that the family had a placeto live. One day he said, "Even my friends didnot dare to rent me a house after martial lawwas imposed." This anxiety has returned to hiswife. In those uncertain, miserable days, he hadto move from house to house. Having apermanent address in Dhaka, he no longer hadto worry about his family. He can now jump intoany risk without causing any pain to hisrelatives. Thinking this, Bangabandhu breatheda sigh of relief.He used the living room of Dhanmondi'shouse occasionally. Anyone could easily enterthe bedroom in front of him. There he would sitin a reclining chair or in a corner of the bed.When he saw the visitor, he would smile andgreet him, hug him and let him sit in the chair.Bangabandhu loves to watch movies. But onlyhistorical pictures. He said, 'I haven't had achance to see one or more pictures in two orthree years. He has seen the historical pictureSirajuddaula after the recent martial law wasimposed. Although he had wanted to watch thismovie for a long time.When Bangabandhu was asked about hisfavorite books, he would say, "I like the writingsof Nazrul, Rabindranath, Bernard Shaw,Kennedy and Mao Zedong." Bangabandhu wasa big fan of former US President John F.Kennedy. He liked Kennedy very much as aman. A quote from Kennedy wasBangabandhu's special choice, "Don't ask whatthe country can give you, but ask yourself whatyou can do for the country." His list of likes anddislikes was quite extensive and sophisticated.However, Bangabandhu rarely got time to readbooks as he had to give lectures in the districtsor give time to the visitors. In his home library,there were only two bookshelves full of books -Churchill, Karl Marx, History of Bengal, Historyof France and England, Kennedy and BertrandRussell. Bangabandhu had deep respect andconfidence in Islam. He said, 'I am a Muslim.Through these words, confidence and innerfaith of the mind are sounded in his voice. Thisis possible only if one has deep faith in theoriginal. He was more a believer in thefundamentals of Islam than in performingnayeeM ISLaM nIBIrXU LIngUIreligious rites. He feared that the years-longrituals would surround Islam in a way thatcould lead Muslims astray.As Bangabandhu once said in context, mywife is extremely frugal and cautious, she isalways ready for adversity. I have given him allthe authority to run the battlefield called Sansar.The joke came out in his eyes, 'I have given fullautonomy to my wife to run the homeadministration just as I want autonomy for EastPakistan. His wife is a majestic woman with ahappy disposition. All the qualities of a Bengalimother exist in her. She is gentle, loving andkind. Sheikh Fazilatunnesa Mujib used to helpthe poor and needy people with open heart. Thehumor of this majestic woman was also verystrong. A few days after the imposition ofmartial law, she remarked that martial law hadbecome better. I have a chance to talk to himnow. Otherwise, he is always surrounded byvisitors. They stay with him till 12 o'clock atnight, again they come to him at dawn. She hascomforted her husband in times of financialhardship. She has always stood by her side intimes of misery and suffering. Sheikh Mujib hasoccasionally jumped into danger and riskbecause he knew his wife would not beoverwhelmed by anxiety or worry. BehindMujib's sacrifice is the sacrifice of his wife, whohas endured years of grief and suffering. WhenMujib goes to jail, she does not know when herhusband will be released from jail. Belief in herhusband's thoughts and actions was the onlysource of strength for this majestic woman.Sheikh Mujib was full of praise for his wife.Mujib is not worried about going to jail, becausehe knows he is leaving his children in safehands. He thinks his wife is a loving and kindwoman. But the thing that attractedBangabandhu the most was that his wife wasvery brave. In the past, when the police cameand took him away and put him in jailindefinitely, his wife never shed a tear andshowed no sign of breaking up. Did she cryduring the Agartala conspiracy case? To thisquestion Mujib said, I don't know by crying.Maybe she cried behind me. I can't say for sure.Sheikh Mujib is undoubtedly lucky to have sucha life partner.Mujib's parents arranged the marriage. Theirmarriage was very successful and both weresuitable as a couple. Apparently the two seemdifferent. Mrs. Mujib is soft-spoken, silent andSheikh Mujib is her opposite. He is very warm,friendly and prefers to take risks. Yet they arebound in the same bond of courage andcompassion. The party workers greetedBangabandhu with great respect and courtesy.Fazlul Haque used to call him grandson andSuhrawardy used to caress him like his ownchild. "I am not Sheikh Mujibur Rahman to thepeople of my party," he told a US journalist. "Iam Mujib bhai."Apart from family, people and politics,another place of love for Mujib was thecountryside of East Pakistan. He once told afriend that if I had a house on the side of theroad in the village. Then I would see greennature from a distance for a while.Despite his love of life and politics, he was anature lover. Everyone will need a few hands ofland. "Do you sometimes think about death?When asked, Bangabandhu replied, "I alwaysthink of death." Sheikh Mujib had no qualmsabout eating habits. "I like white rice, pulses andmashed potatoes the most," he said of hisfavorite food. He also likes fish broth. SheikhMujib is a man of real perception. His insightsdid not come from reading books or fromabstract things, but from the frustration ofunemployed youth, the helplessness of farmers,the hunger and sickness of their children.Insight was more important than intelligence.He does not like lazy, incompetent andemotional idealists. Their stupidity made himangry. He yelled at his colleague, the secretary,but forgot about it after a while. This quality wasalso present in his leader Suhrawardy. Loyaltyand gratitude are two good political weapons,Bangabandhu believed. The goal ofBangabandhu's life was to do good to thepeople. He used to say, 'I have demandedautonomy for both East and West Pakistan. Inmy eyes, there is no difference between the poorpeople of East and West Pakistan. After hisrelease from the Agartala conspiracy case,Bangabandhu was much happier than before.Thinking that West Pakistanis may haveunderstood the plight of East Pakistanis.Despite all the arrogance and pride of EastPakistan, Bangabandhu was not a lowly andintroverted nationalist. When Ayub Sarkar triedto narrow down our cultural life by omittingRabindranath Tagore's poems and songs,Sheikh Mujib declared, 'Rabindranath is notjust a Bengali poet, he is a world poet. Just aspeople want to read Shakespeare, Aristotle, KarlMarx, they also want to read the writings ofRabindranath Tagore.He is in dire straits, yet he has not given uphope. As he has always felt, he is an element ofEast Pakistan's destiny. He once said to himself,'I thought I might be jailed for 20 years in theAgartala conspiracy case. Even if the sentence iscommuted considering the case, I will be 64when I get out of jail.If the exploitation of my people still does notstop and my six points are not achieved, I willfight for it.Bangabandhu was kind from his childhood.Even before the beginning of political life, seeingthe misery of the impoverished people of thevillage, he was clearly moved by it. He did nothesitate to donate his sheets to the coldblooded.He was a righteous man all his life.Observing his political life, we can see hishonesty, devotion and concentration. He usedto speak in simple language, he used to expressthe faces of common people in his speeches. Heloved ordinary people. Wherever he went,ordinary people would become his relatives.His honesty, devotion has made him alegend. Wherever he has gone, everyone seemsto be his own, very close person. Bangabandhuis not just a name, it is a history. Bangladesh andBangabandhu are inseparable.If you want to know Bangladesh, you alsoneed to know Bangabandhu. Bangabandhu is aperfect example of how to build yourself as aleader. His long struggle was very diverse.Repeatedly faced death but did notcompromise. The man who has spent his wholelife to liberate the country from subjugation, tosee an independent sovereign country. But justfour years after independence, the man waskilled by some greedy and misguided armyofficers.We have come to the very edge of thediscussion. I'm finishing with a few morediscussion! Bangabandhu was not a partyleader. He is the national leader of all,irrespective of party affiliation. Although he wasthe leader of one party, he built national unitywith all parties to liberate the country.Bangabandhu knew that the country could notbe made independent without unity.People from all walks of life also adorned himwith seats of honor. So he is the leader of all theparty. He always loved national unity. Not as thehead of the party, but as the leader of the peopleof the country, the leaders of different partieshave accepted and respected him. Analyzing thelife of Bangabandhu, one can learn that"Courage is not a thing that can be achieved bya single act. You have to live with this couragefor the rest of your life."Nayeem Islam Nibir is a younggeneration political leader and columnistin Bangladesh. He can be reached:nayemulislamnayem148@gmail.comU.S. attempt to pressure China by politicizingCOVID-19 origins-tracing doomed to failThe United States is playing its oldtrick again by releasing a so-calledsummary of the intelligencecommunity assessment on COVID-19origins, under the delusion that it canhamper China by politicizing COVID-19origins-tracing.The summary, released by the Office ofthe Director of National Intelligence of theUnited States on Friday, does not rule outeither natural exposure or laboratoryaccident, and blatantly claims that China"continues to hinder the globalinvestigation, resist sharing informationand blame other countries."Obviously, the "report" concocted by theU.S. intelligence community is notscientifically credible. As a matter ofscience, the origins-tracing should andcan only be left to scientists, notintelligence experts.The assertion of lack of transparency onthe part of China is only an excuse for theU.S. politicizing and stigmatizingSheikh Mujib used to spread the charisma of his strong personalityamong the people who used to come near him. When he spoke onstage, he spoke in clear, simple language, and occasionally addedfunny anecdotes. This ability to handle people with sensitive andskilled hands has further increased Bangabandhu's popularity andpower. It is very rare that he had a stubborn and strong temperament.campaign. China has taken an open,transparent and responsible attitude sinceCOVID-19 cases were reported in the cityof Wuhan.As the first to cooperate with the WorldHealth Organization (WHO) on globalorigins-tracing, China has invited WHOexperts to conduct the investigations twicein the country. The openness andtransparency China have displayed havewon full recognition from internationalexperts.The joint study report of the scientists ofthe WHO and China, which was releasedearlier this year after two joint studymissions in the country, has reached theThe U.S. side has been shying away from tracing the virus originsat home and closing the door on any such possibility. If the U.S.side insists on the lab leak theory, it should invite WHO experts toinvestigate military bio-lab Fort Detrick. If the U.S. side is "transparentand responsible," it should make public the data of its earlycases and examine it to find out what happened on its turf first.conclusion that introduction through a labaccident in Wuhan is "extremelyunlikely".The United States, however, has chosento ignore this finding.The U.S. intelligence community's"report" is based on a presumption of guilton the part of China, seeking to scapegoatChina for the U.S. side's failure toeffectively protect its citizens from thevirus. With its rich medical resources, theUnited States has, however, registered themost infections and death cases fromCOVID-19 across the globe.The U.S. side has been shying awayfrom tracing the virus origins at home andclosing the door on any such possibility. Ifthe U.S. side insists on the lab leak theory,it should invite WHO experts toinvestigate military bio-lab Fort Detrick.If the U.S. side is "transparent andresponsible,"it should make public the data of itsearly cases and examine it to find out whathappened on its turf first, instead ofcontinually slinging mud at others.China stands a clear-cut position onglobal origins-tracing: this is a matter ofscience. And any attempt to pressureChina by politicizing COVID-19 originstracingis doomed to fail.The writer is Senior Editor,Xinhua News Agency
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